Holcombe, a transfer from Marshall, led UT Marti | Forum

The Philadelphia 76ers will become the first North American professional sports team to own an esports team. Vincent Lecavalier Jersey .The team will announce Monday that it has acquired long-time franchise Dignitas and upstart Apex, which offers a guaranteed spot in the highly coveted League of Legends Championship Series, and operate under the Dignitas name.Terms were not disclosed, but more established esports team brands have been offered in the marketplace at valuations between $5 million and $15 million. WME-IMG represented Dignitas in the transaction. The acquisitions come about a year after a presentation on the growth of esports was made at the NBA Board of Governors meeting.76ers CEO Scott ONeil said, We were smart enough to know what we didnt know, so ONeil brought on Greg Richardson, an executive who has had a career in consumer tech and video gaming and will oversee the project for the team.The market created itself and became a product that a quarter billion people are watching, and when they watch, theyre watching an hour and half a day, Richardson said. But at the same time, its an incredibly large, immature market that is somewhat of a Wild West.The 76ers are used to making first moves. On May 16, the first day the NBA allowed a team to sign a company to put its logo on a jersey starting in the 2017-18 season, the 76ers announced a three-year deal with StubHub. In the more than four months since, no other team has announced such a deal.We like to be agents of change, rather than sit and watch from the sidelines, ONeil said. Our owners, Josh [Harris] and David [Blitzer], have big eyes, big vision and big appetite.The past five years, Harris and Blitzer have acquired a total of seven franchises, including the 76ers, the New Jersey Devils, some minor league teams and English Premier team Crystal Palace.Theres no denying the fact that esports presents corporate America with a way to reach millennials in a way stick and ball sports just isnt, ONeil said.Dignitas , which has been in the space for 13 years, has teams in various leagues that play in five games: CS:GO, League of Legends, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm and Smite.Although Richardson said there might be some fun cross-branding between the 76ers and their esports team, the two markets, he said, have their differences, and if you dont respect that youre in trouble.One of the most important synergies in the deal could be in the mass merchandising of esports player jerseys. Gear has been available at tournaments and online but has always been limited. Michael Rubin, owner of Fanatics, the largest online sports retailer in the U.S., is a minority partner of the 76ers and is part of this deal.In May, German soccer team FC Schalke 04 bought a League of Legends spot in the European Championship Series.Former NBA player Rick Fox owns Echo Fox teams. Sacramento Kings minority partners Andy Miller, Mark Mastrov and Shaquille ONeal, along with Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins, are partners in NRG, which competes in more than five disciplines.It hasnt been smooth sailing for these entrants, especially in League of Legends, where, in their first season, FC Schalke was relegated and NRG fell back to the Challenger league in the North American equivalent.Teams have also entered the esports space by signing gamers. Premier League teams Manchester City and West Ham have signed esports stars, and so has Bundesliga team Wolfsburg. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http:///...os-lightning-jersey/ . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. CINCINNATI -- Hayden Moore threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Boone ran for a score and Cincinnati beat UT Martin 28-7 on Thursday night.Cincinnati scored on a 3-yard pass from Moore to Nate Cole with 19 seconds left in the first half to pull to 7-6. Josh Pasley, who missed a 24-yard field goal earlier, missed the extra point.Kahlil Lewis added a 3-yard TD catch late in the third and a successful two-point conversion made it 14-7. Boones TD capped an 11-play drive and Tyrell Gilbert intercepted Gunnar Holcombe and returned it 58 yards to cap the scoring.Tioon Green ran for 97 yards for Cincinnati (1-0). Martin St. Louis Jersey. aimiee Bowe rushed for 102 yards for UT Martin (0-1). Holcombe threw for 146 yards but was intercepted twice.Holcombe, a transfer from Marshall, led UT Martin on a 14-play, 75-yard season-opening drive. It ended in a 7-yard TD catch by Caylon Weathers for a 7-0 lead.The Skyhawks are 1-21 all-time against FBS teams. The lone win was a 20-17 victory over Memphis on September 1, 2012. ' ' '